Former Major League Baseball pitcher Anthony Varvaro was killed in a fatal car crash Sunday morning in New Jersey.
Varvaro retired from the MLB to become a New York City police officer. He was on his way to work at the 9/11 memorial annual ceremony, police officials said.
“We are deeply saddened on the passing of former Braves pitcher Anthony Varvaro,” the Atlanta Braves announced. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and colleagues.”
We are deeply saddened on the passing of former Braves pitcher Anthony Varvaro. Anthony, 37, played parts of six seasons in the majors, including four with Atlanta.
He voluntarily retired from MLB in 2016 to become a Port Authority police officer. pic.twitter.com/YSoisa79o4
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) September 11, 2022
His old baseball coach Mike Hampton from St. Johns, was “at a loss for words.”
“Not only was he everything you could want out of a ballplayer, he was everything you could want in a person,” Hampton expressed. “My heart goes out to his family, friends, teammates and fellow officers.”
Anthony worked for the Port Authority officials in New York and New Jersey. The Port Authority described Varvaro as someone who “represented the very best of this agency, and will be remembered for his courage and commitment to service.”
Chairman Kevin O’Toole of Port Authority said, “On this solemn occasion as the Port Authority mourn the loss of 84 employees in the attacks on the World Trade Center — including 37 members of the Port Authority Police Deparment — our grief only deepens today with the passing of Officer Varvaro.”
We are deeply saddened by the passing of former Red Sox pitcher Anthony Varvaro.
We send our sincerest condolences to the Varvaro family. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/fQTgpswhQP
— Red Sox (@RedSox) September 11, 2022
According to ESPN:
For his major league career, Varvaro pitched 183 and 2/3 innings in 166 games, compiling a 3.23 ERA, 150 strikeouts, and one save.
In 2016, he appeared in 18 games for Boston’s top minor league affiliate before retiring in June and beginning his police training.
Varvaro, who studied criminal justice at St. John’s and graduated in 2005, told the student newspaper, The Torch, in December 2016 that he inquired about police jobs at the Port Authority while pitching in the majors.
“I figured that I had a pretty successful career in baseball, I had played a number of season, and I was fine moving on to the next step of my life,” he told the newspaper.
Port Authority officials said Varbaro became a police officer in December 2016 and was assigned to patrol for nearly five years before transferring to the Port Authority Police Academy to become an instructor.
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